Plastic Bank has eyes set on a wasteless world.
Plastic Bank, has empowered communities around the globe to stop 80 million kilograms of plastic, the equivalent of 4 billion bottles (and counting!), from reaching the ocean. This milestone is achieved in the year when the social enterprise celebrates its 10th anniversary.
As Plastic Bank enters its second decade, Headquartered in beautiful Vancouver, Canada, its mission to turn off the tap to ocean plastic evolves into a Social Recycling movement that enables people to become the change they seek in our world.
But how?
Plastic Bank identifies vulnerable coastlines across the world that need plastic collection infrastructure, empowers local entrepreneurs to establish collection branches in convenient locations, helps gather collection communities together and stops plastic before it enters the ocean. Collected plastic exchanged at the branch offers income and life-improving benefits to community members that help them transcend poverty.
These include access to benefits like health, work and life insurance, digital connectivity and fintech services. Collection members and collection branches are registered through the PlasticBank® app that records every transaction, enables traceable collection, secures income, and verifies reporting.
“I think the real gift of that day was the realization that I didn’t need to create Plastic Bank. I needed to become the person who could. It was really a spiritual day of awakening for me.
There was a still, quiet voice, unattached to outcome, unattached to meaning. It was a space that said ‘you can become the person who makes change in the world’.”
– David Katz, on the moment he conceived Plastic Bank just before lunch on May 9, 2013.
Plastic Bank reveal the true economic value of plastic, making it valuable to not be left in the environment. In doing so, they’ve created a system for plastic exchange similar to any other currency exchange. The PlasticBank® app uses fintech and blockchain technology to securely execute plastic transactions. For those reasons, they call themselves a Plastic Bank.
Interested in learning more? Check out Davids Ted Talks “turn off the tap, Plastic Bank” and The surprising solution to ocean plastic. If your business is looking to offset it’s plastic impact – visit PlasticBank.com.
